The Legend of Three
by fluffydono
Summary: In this fanfic...many things will happen. Things you never even thought possible...you will never look at the Naruto World the same way, ever again.
1. The Beginning

Prologue

The Yondaime was panicking. The Kyuubi was only a few minutes away and his wife had just given birth to a girl, before dying due to the stress placed on her body by the Kyuubi's jyaki and a premature birth. He was lost.

He chuckled to himself as tears streamed down his cheeks, "Naruto…no," the Yondaime shook his head, "You're a girl…you shall be known as Ryuko Uzumaki Namikaze, the last of both clans. You are my child; you will be the last jinchuuruki, the savior of this village…of this world. Forgive me. Forgive me for doing this to you, but I cannot burden anyone else with this. Only you, Ryuko, have the strength to withstand this burden." The Yondaime, no Minato Namikaze wiped away his tears and paused, staring at the sleeping face of his daughter…

"You are going to lead a harsh life, but that will only make you stronger…with every hardship you overcome your spirit and mind will grow. You will become strong and I will make sure of that." The Yondaime turned his head sharply, spiking his chakra as he did so. Immediately a silver-haired anbu dropped down in front of the Yondaime.

"You called Yondaime-sama?"

"Ah yes, Kakashi… I need you to do me a favor. It's something I can only ask of you."

"Hai, sensei."

Good, I need you to go to the Sandaime. Tell him that her name is Ryuko Uzumaki Namikaze…"

Kakashi glanced down at the bundle…"She's yours then?"

"Yes…but listen, go to the Sandaime and tell him that I sent you for the forbidden scroll as well as the scrolls in the vault in the Hokage Mountain. I need you to take the scrolls, my daughter, as well as Itachi Uchiha with you outside the village. If not…terrible things will happen. Sarutobi will understand and will give you scrolls that have further instructions from me…"

"Wait…you knew this would happen?"

"Kakashi, I didn't know…I just went with a gut feeling…you will understand in time. Please Kakashi, I am doing this as a father, not the Hokage…if Ryuko stays in this village…I'm afraid for her. Please listen to this selfish man's words, as your teacher, as your friend, your older brother…please.

"…why?"

The Yondaime grinned lopsidedly, "The Kyuubi is coming."

"…you…you…you're going to seal the Kyuubi in your own daughter? Sensei!!!" The Yondaime…no Minato shook his head as he smiled a strange smile before looking fondly at the blond in his arms.

"I cannot wish this fate upon anyone else. I am only a man, but at the same time, I am the Hokage and a father…I cannot place this burden on anyone else. My daughter will be the only one strong enough to withstand the Kyuubi's influence. The Kyuubi is the strongest of the tailed bijuu and if even the Sanbi is said to have driven his container insane, then what about the Kyuubi? The Uzumaki's are known for their strong will and mind prowess; I also feel that the Kyuubi will protect my daughter. His attack is…too strange. He is said to be the…"

"…protector of Konoha, the Guardian of Fire. So then, why?"

"Why attack the village, right? That too is something I do not know. But you and Itachi should be able to find out…no you will find out."

"Sensei, why do you speak as if you are not going to be there?"

The Yondaime smiled fondly at the young anbu in front of him, knowing he was making the right decision… "Kakashi, the seal I designed requires a human life…a sacrifice." The Yondaime looked at his student, "Protect her. In my daughter you will find a reason…and that reason will make you stronger." With that said, the Yondaime jumped out the window with Ryuko and hiraishined away. Summoning Gamabunta, the two old friends glanced at each other, then at the rampaging Kyuubi, then to the village. Gamabunta turned his head towards his friend and summoner, glancing at the bundle in his arms…

"The tadpole yours?"

"Yeah…"

"This is going to be the last time I'm going to see you…isn't it kid?" The Yondaime nodded and looked down at the bundle he held in his arms. His eyes widened in surprise…Ryuko's eyes were open.

Gamabunta looked up sharply, sensing something off…"What's wrong kid?"

"…no…nothing…maybe not, nothing. It's as if she knows what I'm about to do…she's only a baby," there was a pause and the Yondaime glanced down at his daughter… "YES!!! MY BABY'S A GENIUS!!!"

Gamabunta paused and chuckled, "Only you kid. Only you would scream that out in front of the Kyuubi."He shook his head "You shouldn't be so surprised brat. She's yours isn't she, yours and that red-haired brat's? You two were always too smart for your own good…looks like the smarts passed down. Oh shit, that means…Good god not another one…you better pray to Kami-sama that she turns out to be like you and not Kushina, otherwise I will bring you back to life and kill you again in the worst possible way possible."

The Yondaime chuckled. "Don't think that's possible, my souls going to be in the Shinigami's stomach…tough luck beating that. You ready to go down in history old man?" Minato ran through a combination of seals, "Hop to it old man, I'm not going to get any younger."

"No respect at all…I'm going to let it go this time." Gamabunta leaped towards the Kyuubi and unsheathed his tanto to slash down…only to find himself stopped by tails and a grinning jaw… "You need a breath mint you damn fox and that's coming from someone who doesn't even have a sense of smell."

The Kyuubi growled, "Fool summon. Did you really think that you can stop me? You and what army you cursed toad?"

Gamabunta shrugged, "Who said I'm going to stop you and besides my grandpa can stop you and he can't even move…he even has short-term memory loss…"

The Yondaime groaned, "Gamabunta, stop agitating him and get stalling."

"All right kid, you ready?"

"Did you even have to ask? I was born ready old man…SEAL!" The Yondaime's chakra enveloped the Kyuubi and Ryuko as a dark mist gathered behind him, condensing into a humanoid figure. The Kyuubi began to struggle as the figure cut the strands that tied the Kyuubi's immortal soul to its physical body. The Kyuubi began to fall while fighting, until there was a bright light and no evidence of the Kyuubi remained.

Minato looked down at his daughter in wonder, "So this is the Shinigami's power…to be able to merely cut the strings tying the Kyuubi to this plane of existence and seal him inside my daughter in only one minute; no wonder he is a God. Live well, my daughter and all will be…" The Yondaime's body began to fall with a smile still left on its face.

Gamabunta caught Ryuko with his tongue, setting her down amongst the branches of a tree and smiled, "You will be special kid…" before poofing back to the summon world.

Meanwhile Kakashi was furiously building hopping towards the Hokage tower and as he burst open the door, he saw the man known throughout the shinobi nation as, The Professor looking out of the window with tears running down his aged cheeks.

The Sandaime whispered, "So it has been done…all there is left to do is call Weasel in."

Kakashi looked quizzically at the Sandaime. "Sandaime-sama, you knew?"

"The crystal ball in the office is not just there for decoration Kakashi. It's there for a purpose, just like everything else in this world."

"You mean…you have already…"

"The scrolls have been sealed, all of them. I even added a few of my own…actually a lot of them."

"But why…?"

"You mean why go so far for a simple child?" The Sandaime chuckled, "Ah, Kakashi you are still too young. Tell me Kakashi, if you were in my stead…what would you have done?"

"…I do not know…"

"Exactly, but Minato did know, and it is only because of him I am not making a mistake… perhaps in another world I could have made a mistake, but not in this one."

"What exactly do you mean by mistake?"

"Tell me Kakashi, if I were to go out there right now, in front of all the villagers with Ryuko…and told them: the Yondaime is dead because he has sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi into this child…tell me Kakashi, how would they react?"

"…the retired shinobi and the veterans would understand and treat her like a hero... but the younger generation and the villagers would treat her like a…that's what sensei meant…"

"Do you understand now Kakashi? Minato was like a son to me as well as a friend. His daughter is my granddaughter and I will do all that I can to help, even if it means breaking by vows as a Hokage...don't you love loopholes.

"Loopholes, Sandaime-sama?"

The Sandaime grinned before starting, "As of now only you and I know the Yondaime is dead…technically, I am still in retirement. I am not the Hokage…at least until the council reinstates my title."

"Sandaime-sama!" Kakashi stared in disbelief. Was this really the man once known as the God of Shinobi…he whispered to himself, "We're doomed…"

"What? When you get old like me, you'll find things you like to do as well. For me…it's politics and making those old coots on the council angry…"

"Cough…hypocrite…cough."

"Ahem, right now Konoha is weak. Konoha is falling apart. Danzo will try to act as soon as word gets out that Minato is dead. That is why I am doing this now and not later." There was a pause as Sarutobi shook himself out of what looked to be a stupor, "Itachi will be here shortly."

"Hai, Sandaime-sama." Sarutobi looked solemnly out the window. He never looked older then he did at this very moment: his eyes seemed sunken and his wrinkles more pronounced. As he let out a sigh an anbu appeared before them, pausing slightly at the presence of Kakashi.

"Did you call for me, Sandaime-sama?"

"Take off your mask Itachi, you too Kakashi." Both anbu looked at each other before reluctantly taking off their masks.

"Good, my kage bunshin should be back shortly with Ryuko; in the meantime, I will explain everything that Minato wanted me to explain and what I want you to do.

Both men looked at each other and nodded, "Hai, Sandaime-sama."

"Now no one knows yet except us. I am sending you on a mission, a SSS class mission. No one will know the details except for us, not even the anbu commander. Your mission is to take Ryuko Uzumaki Namikaze out of this village and out of the elemental countries. You will protect her…and you will be her everything…her fathers, her brothers…her everything.

"S…S…Sa…San…Sandaime-sama," Kakashi and Itachi looked at the old man in front of them in disbelief, "You cannot be seriously implying what we think you are implying…can you?

"Imply what? Oh dear…I must be going senile in my old age…" Sarutobi snickered to himself, "Not."

"Did you say something Sandaime-sama?" The two men looked suspiciously at the Hokage, "We could of have sworn…"

"Of course not…do I look like that type of person to you?" Sarutobi coughed and began, "Back to more important things." He looked around and sighed, "Of course…"

"What is wro…," Kakashi paused and took out a five pieces of paper from his pocket and began to place them around the room evenly. He turned and began to speak, "We have one hour tops, until the seals wear out that is."

Sarutobi grinned at Kakashi, "I knew you'd come in handy one day…I mean…nevermind. Anyways, what I am about to tell you is a secret, a secret that only Jiriaya and I know…I also suspected Minato knew as well."

"WELL!?!?!?!?"

"Well, the elemental countries are not the only countries in existence. Rather we are one in a million. Beyond our "world" lies another: a mix of society and culture that is much larger than our own."

"Come again, Sandaime-sama, I'm afraid I had some ear wax stuck in my ear." Kakashi spoke as he blew something off his pinky…

"NOOOOOOO!!! Not on my floor…I just cleaned it…" The Sandaime sobbed to himself before glaring at Kakashi, "Now, before I was interrupted…This is a hidden continent, or rather a hidden island that does not exist to outsiders."

Itachi paused, "Sandaime-sama, how does this island not exist? What do you mean by outsiders?"

"This continent, the one we shinobi call the hidden continent, does not exist to people outside this island. Centuries ago, even before the bijuu came to this land, our ancestors created a barrier, a barrier that separated our world from their world. This barrier repels ships and other forms of transportation as well as other forms of technology other than what we already have, away from this island. In reality, we, the shinobi continent do not exist therefore we, the people should not exist."

"What do you mean we should not exist?"

"I mean exactly what I said. To us, it has only been a few centuries, but to the outsiders it has been even more…it has been over a few thousand years. Any trace of a true shinobi does not exist in the outside world; our kind does not exist. The world out there is different, so much more complicated, and yet, at the same time, so much more peaceful. Ah, forgive this old man's musings…You two will take Ryuko and travel, experience the outside world, train her, and become stronger yourselves. After all, you will be in a new world; who knows what you will find out there. I will keep in contact with you through Jiraiya. Do not be worried…everything is in that scroll. Do you accept this mission?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama," the two men answered. Kakashi and Itachi looked at each other before asking, "…Hokage-sama, where is Ryuko?"

The Sandaime sweatdropped to himself, "Oops can't forget the most important part of this mission now can we. I apologize…my clone is waiting for you two at the Valley of the End. You will have five minutes to get ready and…actually let's make it thirty minutes. You will be gone for a while and you probably need to empty out your bank accounts and houses…so thirty minutes to get ready and be out of the village. Dismissed." With that the two ex-anbu shuunshined out.


	2. What the Hell!

Itachi looked at the Uchiha compound from a nearby telephone pole...and snorted before muttering, "I already emptied out my accounts…this is the one place I will not be missing. Itachi snickered to himself, "Finally…free. First things first though…letters to mother and Sasuke. Itachi jumped down from the telephone pole and into the compound, and before heading his way to his room…he looked intently at the clan councils' houses…

"Ah, what the hell…I'm leaving for a while, heh… so shove this up your ass for a change…" Itachi formed two kage bunshin and indicated for Clone #1 to pack everything in his room into scrolls, including the secret stash of pocky he had under a secret trap door he had under the bookcase and indicated for Clone #2 to write the letters to his mother and Sasuke. Itachi cackled evilly before turning towards the buildings that loomed above him. He rubbed his hands together, "kukukukuku…this is payback for all the times you prissy sons of a bitches tried to manipulate me. Let's get this show on the road."

(Time skip forward)

Itachi giggled uncharacteristically. Before him lay the greatest masterpiece ever created in all of shinobi history. The clan council houses were covered in splotches of neon paint that changed colors in the sun…there was a small weasel holding a piece of pocky on each door…and if you went inside…

Itachi grinned, "If I do say so myself…I believe this even tops off that one time the Nidaime crashed Madara's engagement ceremony…perhaps that's why he went rogue, oh well." Itachi took out a piece of pocky from his pouch as he waited for his clones to finish. "…never had this flavor before, banana… it's rather…good." Itachi slowly continued to munch on his pocky as he turned to the empty space in front of him.

"Did you pack everything in my room? Good. Did you put the letters where only mother and Sasuke can find them?"

Clone #2 answered, "Yes."

Itachi accepted two scrolls from Clone #1 as he sealed one scroll into a his weapons pouch and unsealed the second scroll to reveal a mountain of pocky.

"Thank God I restocked yesterday…" Itachi began to seal the boxes into a seal on his left forearm for "easy access." "Good…now tell me what do you think of the new design."

Clone #1 merely stared briefly at the clan council houses before shifting his head back towards the original, "…the weasel was a nice touch."

Itachi stared, "I think I'm starting to understand why people think the Uchihas and the Hyuugas have sticks rammed up their asses…I'm insulting myself…that cannot be a good sign. Well, Clone #2 what do you think? Don't be afraid…I wouldn't hurt myself…I think."

Clone #2 raised a perfectly refined eyebrow and stated in a rather "regal" tone, "To be perfectly honest…you should have diversified the colors, a few splotches here and there would have been a nice touch. Glitter would have been nice too…glitter is very, very, very hard to clean out…it sticks to everything. Then you could have set a few traps for the elders for all the things they tried to force on us…and Sasuke."

Itachi snorted, "Very well, time is running short…I rather like that plan…Clone #1 and #2 I assign you one final task before you dispel yourselves…go out with a bang. I'll leave you two to interpret that however you want. I may have accidentally dropped some money by the entrance to the Uchiha clan compound…wouldn't want some random stranger to, I don't know, accidentally pick it up and use it to buy pranking supplies." With that said, Itachi munched on the last bit of pocky and shuunshined towards the gates.

While this was all occurring Kakashi was leaping from rooftop to rooftop towards his apartment returning from the bank. All the while Kakashi began to think to himself (_Does sensei really mean what I think he meant…but both of us? Most fathers usually try to beat males off their daughters with a stick but sensei…is encouraging it, and not just one male but two of us? First of all Itachi is thirteen years older than her…I'm seventeen years older than her…I believe sensei was out his mind when he was saying those things…yes, yes he was definitely out of his mind._) Kakashi, caught in his thoughts found himself in front of his apartment only to find something out of place (to the extreme)…the door was ajar.

He mused to himself (_I know I'm forgetful but I'm not that forgetful…_) as he inched his way towards his apartment's entrance. Kakashi flung a kunai in the direction of the shadow that stood menacingly in his hallway only to stare in shock at the rather…feminine shriek that arose from the figure standing before him…(_white hair, ugly mug, female-like scream…yup, it's him_).

Kakashi sighed as he plucked his kunai from the figure's hand and placed it back in his weapon's pouch, "Jiraiya-sama, do you really feel the need to sneak into other's houses?"

The figure grumbled before stepping out into the light, "Did you really have to throw that kunai? Anyways…I already packed everything for you since I knew you were going to be late with your last farewells for a very long time. How are you coping kid?"

Kakashi stared blandly at Jiraiya, "…shouldn't you worry about yourself Jiraiya-sama? Thank you though, thank you for asking."

"No problem," Jiraiya ran his fingers through his hair, "Come on, we gotta go, can't have the Uchiha waiting for too long." With that being said, Jiraiya took off towards the gates. Kakashi took one final look at his apartment building and at the key in his hand before throwing the key off into the distance as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop to catch up with the figure in front of him.

(At the Gate)

Itachi was leaned back against one of the pillars that reinforced the walls of Konoha and looked up as he began to feel two chakra signatures headed his way.

Itachi stood up straight, "Kakashi-senpai…Jiraiya-sama," he inclined his head slightly before sighing; "Now that we are all here…we should not keep the Sandaime's clone waiting for too long. That would be disrespectful and unbecoming of ones of our standing."

Kakashi snorted, "When have you started caring…it never stopped you before."

"That was due to Obito's influence…it was only after I met the Yondaime that I started caring whether or not I was late. Besides at least I don't use those idiotic excuses that both of you made. I at least make them believable."

"…talk about early teenage rebellion."

"I'm sure you went through it as well…rather…a late one."

"I was born during war, what's your excuse?"

Jiraiya but in, "Stop it. Do you want to get caught? If you do…please, be my guests. Good. Now that we let that out of our systems…let's head out before the guards start waking up." With that said Jiraiya led the mismatched group out of Konoha and towards the valley of the end. "We should be there in around five minutes give or take a few seconds."

Kakashi and Itachi glanced at each other before nodding their heads in agreement before staring at the trees in front of them wondering what lay in there futures, still unsure as to what the Sandaime meant about going out of the elemental countries. After all…there were only five countries…right? The two shinobi were brought to an abrupt stop as Jiraiya stopped at the edge of the clearing.

"Jiraiya-sama, is something wrong?" Itachi inquired.

"There's someone following us…it's someone I met a few years back…someone I could have sworn died."

Kakashi stared, "If he is dead…then does that not mean you have been lied to, or have been fooled?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "I saw him die myself…unless"

Itachi muttered, "Unless it was a clone…or your memories have been tampered with."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief, "Yahiko?" The figure dropped down from the branch and turned his head around as if looking for danger. He stuck out his tongue and pointed. Jiraiya sweatdropped, Itachi's eye twitched, Kakashi's eyebrow went up. The thought (_What the Hell_) circulated through their brains. Jiraiya stepped up to the figures staring at where the figure was pointing…(is that a seal, a seal for what?). Just as he was about to bring out his sealing materials the figure put a hand before pointing at the seal on the tongue, then his ears, then at his forehead, and finally at his naval before putting his finger to his lips in a shushing motion.

Itachi's and Kakashi's eyes widened as they nodded and turned to Jiraiya before Kakashi started whispering into his ear so that no sound escaped, "He has four seals, not just one…they are all connected to each other; the one on his tongue prevents him from saying anything the sealer does not want him to say; the one near his ears allows the sealer to listen in on a conversation at any given moment; the one on his forehead is like the Hyuga branch seal; the one on his naval stabilizes the seals and acts as a detector. The moment foreign chakra enters the system…the seal on the forehead activates and…holy shit the explosion seal hidden within the naval seal activates seconds after that."

Jiraiya sweatdropped, "I'm a seal master…"

Kakashi shook his head before whispering once again, "I'll set it up while you send a message to the Hokage, before you ask…sensei and I dealt with this before."

Jiraiya furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean before?"

"Danzo has multiple seal masters…not as good as Minato-sensei or you, but good enough to place them on all the members of root," Kakashi sighed before whispering again, "I lost a lot of my comrades that way…damn him to hell."

"Shit. Set it up then, make no mistakes. Itachi guard him and make sure no one comes and interferes." Jiraiya got up and leapt away from the clearing before summoning a toad. "Gamakichi, I need you to go to the Hokage and tell him something word for word."

The small toad grinned, "Candy."

Jiraiya slapped his forehead, "The Hokage will give you candy once you get there and deliver this message. This is the message: I have seen the beginnings of a root infestation in the tunnels of Konoha, deal with it before it gets any worse and Konoha falls. Did you get that?"

Gamakichi jumped up, "I have seen the beginnings of a root infestation in the tunnels of Konoha, deal with it before it gets any worse and Konoha falls. Right?"

Jiraiya grinned and patted him on his head, "Knew you were always smarter than your brother. Do not fail Gamakichi and make sure no one notices you. That's why I summoned you and no one else, only you can do this mission without failing. If someone does get your hands on you that is not the Hokage, dispel yourself. Do you understand Gamakichi? No one must know except the Hokage. Also ask the Hokage this: The lightning liked what about the whirlwind? The answer should be red hair. Understood, good luck little buddy." Gamakichi nodded before hopping off in the direction of Konoha and Jiraiya leapt back to the clearing to find that Kakashi was putting the finishing touches to the seals on the floor.

Jiraiya grinned at the figure and clapped his hands, "Let's get this show on the road boys."


End file.
